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V O L . X X I I I N O. V I I A P R I L 3 , 2 0 1 7 30 R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / D E S I G N F O C U S When it opens this summer, it will have rooftop gardens, EV charging stations, triple glazed windows and other features. He has shown he can fi nd funding for projects in both Kansas City and Maine. Berkshire Hathaway, the invest- ment group run by Warren Buff ett, has invested in Arnold's projects. Connection to Maine runs deep Arnold grew up in Westchester County, N.Y., outside New York City. As a kid, he went to a wilderness camp that was based on Deer Isle and had a site in the North Woods — which shaped his appreciation of both Maine's woods and the coast. His parents now live in Topsham. At a meeting with Mainebiz at the café at the Mill at Dover-Foxcroft, he says he and his wife Erin talk about living here one day. "Eventually, we'll move here," he says. "It's the combination of the people and the landscape, the lack of unnecessary busy-ness." What Maine has, and what it needs Arnold Development invested $9 million in the Mill at Dover-Foxcroft. e mill, on the Piscataquis River, was not unlike a lot of mills you'd see in Lewiston and Auburn or Saco and Biddeford, though in this area wood was more abundant than brick so that was the dominant construction material. Arnold heard the prop- erty was available after Moosehead Manufacturing Co. Inc. closed its plant there. e mill has weathered fl oods, including the historic April 1987 fl ood, when the river came up to the second level. By the time it came on the market, the siding was rotting, windows were broken, the heating system was antiquated. At 60,000 square feet, there weren't a lot of tak- ers willing to take on a renovation of that magnitude. High water and rotted siding are not the only challenges. Piscataquis County has a high poverty level and just 16,843 people to shoulder the local economy. e median household income is $37,495 and 19.1% of the population lives in poverty, according to the U.S. Census. But Arnold sees potential to create a hub of activity, creating an inn, a café, event space, 22 apartments and 22,000 square feet devoted to business tenants. Taking Mainebiz on a tour, Arnold showed off a building that combines old with new: e building retains the huge windows and feeling of space from the old site. ere are weathered, wooden sliding doors, used more now as decora- tion. But the building also has strong broadband service, meeting rooms, a substantial space for servers, a fi tness area and the aforementioned café. e tour of the building went behind the scenes to see the old and new power systems. Arnold fearlessly walks through a dark, wet sub-base- ment into the mill's ancient power plant — giant cogs, driven by the river that in turn drove the machinery in the mill. A later adaptation added a primitive circuit box, with wires going in all directions. Upstairs, on the second fl oor, Arnold proudly showed off an energy effi cient heating system, installed by LG Business Solutions, that uses river water for the heating and cooling system. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E WWW.NEPREQUAL.COM Construction Prequalification Services INFORMATION ASSURANCE TRUST 103 Park Street Lewiston, ME 04243 Tel: (844)NEP-QUAL (637-7825) PREQUAL builds a BETTER project. WWW.NEPREQUAL.COM Construction Prequalification Services INFORMATION ASSURANCE TRUST 103 Park Street Lewiston, ME 04243 Tel: (844)NEP-QUAL (637-7825) PREQUAL builds a BETTER project. P H O T O / P E T E R VA N A L L E N The cafe at the Mill at Dover-Foxcroft.